Best Game of the Month January

Nidhogg is the rare case where something manages to be accessible without being shallow or overly simplistic. “Stab my friend in the face and run” is as about as universally entertaining as you can ask for in a multiplayer game, but once you start finding your way around the many wrinkles in its combat, Nidhogg becomes far more. It doesn't really evolve from a bar-room brawl to an exacting game of inches; it becomes both at once. Spacing, baiting, mix-ups, mind games...Nidhogg expresses so much of what makes fighting games great in a fraction of the time it normally takes to learn one. - Vince Ingenito

Nidhogg hits a competitive nerve that games have been missing for years, something not even recent Smash Bros. games nail. The riotous laughter, spur-of-the-moment comebacks, and masterfully executed plans that come with its 1-on-1 fencing combat are what dreams are made of. This is why I love video games. It's one of the purest forms of fun you'll see all year. - Mitch Dyer

At first I loved Nidhogg because of how easy it is to pick up and play. I didn't need to learn complex rotations or moves because it's simple: stab your pixelated enemy and run to one side of the screen. But as I played through more and more rounds, taking in the beautiful environments and learning how to jump kick my enemies or hide in the brush for surprise attacks, it blossomed in to a much more unique fighting game experience. The tide of battle changes from one instant to the next, yellow and orange blood spattering everywhere. Even though I never thought I'd say something like this, getting eaten by the worm at the end is incredibly satisfying. - Leah Jackson